Ravendove's Sons of Orar

Even a man who has nothing can still offer his life.+++ Thought for the day +++

Sons of OrarA Space Marine Project Log

This thread will chronicle my progress on a new Space Marine army from start to finish. Though the history of the Sons of Orar has been lost, what is known is that they revere Orar, an Ultramarines Captain who won great renown in the wake of the Horus Heresy, and claim him as their spiritual patriarch.

Why a project log?
I am a notoriously slow painter and prone to flutter between projects. I'm hoping that by steadily logging my progress I will be able to stick with it and see it through. Be warned, updates will be sporadic and occasionally few and far between. Nonetheless, thanks for reading!

Colour scheme
I have already done some test models and found a simple, effective technique that works well. I am aiming for a good quality tabletop standard. I will be using the following paints for the following areas:

So that's it for the introduction
I've already had a ton of Forgeworld bits and most of the plastic kits shipped, even completed a few test models, so in the next couple of days I'll start blogging properly and get a load of in progress pictures up.

I will also cover how I plan to solve the Shoulder Pad symbol issue and some methods of converting the older marks of armour for some variation. If people are keen on the colour scheme maybe throw in a step-by-step tutorial. I've got some scenery on the go too and maybe that will get lumped into this log.

Somewhere along the line, there might even be a pet picture!

But...
...since it's considered rude to start a project log off without any pictures at all, I will leave you with my test model: Company Champion in Mk3 armour. Shield is by Scibor with the V scraped off and replaced by a FW Brass Etch Ultramarine symbol. I would take a more up to date picture, but am at work.

That is a nice looking marine dude. I like the old style armour, the shield is pretty cool too. Could we get a better view of the shield and face? I will be watching this thread...Kuffy

Sure. These pictures were taken a few days ago, and the white on the shield and gold ornamentation has been cleaned up a bit since. I've also added more defined highlights. Shield is by Scibor with the V scraped off and replaced by a FW Brass Etch Ultramarine symbol. I would take a more up to date picture, but am at work.

The champion is amazing, I like the scheme very much. The red and white go good together and the gold looks very realistic. Well, at least to me as an amateur
Looking forward to see your progress, and good luck with it.

Getting started
So here's what I've got to work on so far. Forgeworld MkIII armour, Ferox Bolter set, Red Scorpion Veteran set, Gale Force 9 magnetic bases, tons of extra plastic bits ordered from bits sites, a Tactical Squad, Razorback and a huge box of Space Marine bits from various sets over the years.

Tactical Squad A
So I decided to start with a the Tactical Squad. Here are the first half in their semi-assembled glory. A mix of marks of armour, sergeant armed with an Infernus Pistol (counts as Combi-Melta) and a Missile Launcher guy on the right. You'll notice arms are not glued on - this is to make painting chests and bolters easier.

Any pieces that are going to be white (shoulder pads, Sergeant head) will be sprayed separately. Seen here, mounted on cork so for ease of spraying while holding.

You'll also spot Sicarius in the background, who I will be converting to represent my Captain eventually.

Here's a shot of some of the first painted marines in the squad. Sergeant is finished, two marines are mostly done (missing arms still) and the last bloke is awaiting the overcoat of red. So far, he's been undercoated (Army Painter Red) and washed twice (Baal Red, then Devlan Mud in recesses only). After that, I cover the armour plates in Khador Red. Lastly, thin highlights are done with Blazing Orange sparingly on top edges.

Khador Red is a paint by Privateer Press for their Warmachine line. It's essentially Blood Red, but I find it gives better coverage.

Behind them you can see the finished shoulder pads, while arms and bolters are awaiting undercoat.

Looking at these photos, I think the Pistol casing is highlighted a bit too brightly. Instead of Codex Grey > Fortress Grey, I might go with Adeptus Battlegrey > Codex Grey. You'll also notice the Purity Seal hasn't been painted - I haven't yet decided which colour to use for the wax. Red just seems to blend in too much, while green is used for the eyes. What do people think is a good colour to use on red armour?